Footwear such as a ski boot or the like, and ski or the like for use therewith

ABSTRACT

Sports footwear such as a boot comprising a rigid base ( 2 ) and an upper ( 3 ), and engageable with a ski or the like ( 6 ) on which the boot is to be supported and retained, while also enabling walking under favourable conditions. The boot is provided with a walking sole and comprises bearing surfaces ( 12, 13 ) recessed into the rigid base relative to the sole surface. The bearing surfaces ( 12, 13 ) are engageable, directly or via a cradle ( 7 ), with the top surfaces of projections ( 16, 17 ) on the ski, whereby the boot/ski and boot/ground interfaces are separate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to boots adapted to be used for athletic practicesin association with a gliding apparatus, for example, for sports onsnow, or ice, skiing, or with a rolling apparatus, for example, in-lineroller skates in which the boot portion is separable from the apparatus.The term gliding apparatus will hereinafter designate apparatuses thatare strictly gliding as well as those equipped with wheels.

1. Description of the Background and Relevant Information

For the aforementioned types of sports, the boot is affixed to theapparatus during practice, with supports allowing the athlete to steerthe apparatus, and retaining means to hold the feet on the apparatus.

When the athlete stops, he “removes the boot,” i.e., he disengages theapparatus from the boots in order to be able to walk, and the object inthese stopping phases is to have a boot allowing as normal a walk aspossible.

However, and this is especially the case for alpine skiing, given thatthe bindings and the boots cooperate to ensure the skier's safety, thesoles must have a set of geometric features and predefined qualities offriction. These requirements are specified for alpine skiing in the ISO5355 standard.

Walking during the stopping phases cannot therefore occur in safety andcomfort conditions worthy of the progress achieved elsewhere. Withrespect to walking comfort, one must consider a sole correctly designedfor this function, i.e., having a shape allowing the movement of thefoot and a material ensuring adherence and a certain shock absorption.

Additionally, since the ski boot is consistent with the standardrequirements when it is put out on the market, the skier can think thathis equipment will always be efficient and reliable. However, after afew hours of being used for walking, the quality of the sole/bindinglinkage can decrease substantially. The reasons are numerous: a wedge ofsnow under the boot when putting the ski on, dirt and incrustations inthe sole, degradation in the normalized zones by wear due to walking, apoor adjustment induced, etc.

Finally, during athletic practice, the boot/binding assembly must ensurethe transmission of forces from the skier to the ski. In the bestcurrent embodiments, the polygon formed by the boot/binding contactzones is of such a dimension that, associated with a sole worn andcurved from walking, the assembly lends itself to a “hinge effect” dueto the curving, all the more substantial since the binding adjustment islow.

The result is a decrease in the ski steering accuracy, which can causethe skier to increase the release values recommended for the bindingadjustment in order to avoid ill-timed releases and to reconstitute theconditions of a good ski steering accuracy. Furthermore, to overcomethis drawback, the boot manufacturer is led to raise and stiffen theboot upper, which translates into a lesser comfort and the rise of thetraumatic risk towards the knee.

Current statistics confirm the phenomenon.

To answer this series of problems in part, the manufacturers haveenvisioned two lines of progress pertaining to the so-called safetybinding.

The first consists in compensating for the degradation of the normalizedsurfaces of the boot by reducing the relative movement between thebinding and the boot or with mechanisms creating punctual slackness ofthe abutment, avoiding “wedging” effects, therefore the increase in therelease values. These solutions have little effect in the presence of anaccentuated wear of the sole due to walking, and/or penalize thetransmission of forces from the skier to the ski by installing anelasticity that “limits” these forces and by accentuating the previouslymentioned “hinge effect.” Another drawback is that this technique cancause ill-timed releases by offering a release value that is too low incertain fall configurations not indexed by the standard. The user isstill tempted to increase his binding adjustments, which ruins theadjustment optimization effort by the manufacturer and puts himself in adangerous position.

The second line consists in proposing so-called “plate” bindings. Twoconcepts emerged in this field, namely the plates affixed to the bootduring the release and those remaining affixed to the ski under the samecircumstances.

The first are described, for example, in the commonly owned patent FR 2350 854, which discloses separating the “king” interface from the onecooperating with the binding; however, there are still drawbacks.Indeed, if one wishes to give a “walking” profile to the sole, the bootbecomes “bastardized” and implies the simultaneous purchase of the boot,the plate and a “plate/ski” linkage system. This economic handicap hasnot enabled the development of this concept.

Another drawback is that the seating of the boot on the plate becomesunstable as soon as snow gets in between the plate and the sole of theboot, or as soon as the latter is worn and rounded off from walking, asmentioned previously. The problem with the ski steering accuracy due tothe “hinge effect” described hereinabove therefore remains in itsentirety.

Still another drawback is that in the case of a release on a steep icyslope, the plate remaining affixed to the boot becomes a handicap withrespect to adherence and walking in recuperating his ski or skis.

The second ones were progressively called “boots/bindings.” The plateportion, affixed to the ski and generally comprising the release system,cooperates with specific shapes integrated with the sole of the boot.

Such constructions are described in the FR 2 305 208, FR 2 533 448 andCH 507 007.

In the first patent FR 2 305 208, the wear of the sole and theaccumulation of snow promoted by the walking profile leaves intact theproblem of ski steering accuracy, due to the previously mentioned “hingeeffect.” Furthermore, the economical handicap remains in its entirety,the boot being able to cooperate only with the appropriate binding, andinversely. Finally, this type of mechanism has never been able toapproximate, if not equal, the qualities of the abutment/heel concept.

In the second patent FR 2 533 448, the economical aspect is notquestioned, the boot being capable of using the commercially availableconventional bindings. The same goes for the instantaneous rotationcenter located plumb the tibia and fairly constant. Nevertheless, majorhandicaps have led to the abandonment of this concept, namely:

the blind fitting of the boot: the narrowness of the alpine ski and itsmobility under the least impact makes the fitting almost impossible inmany cases (rugged ground, slopes, etc.),

the relationship between the plate and sole dimensions: indeed, if thedimension of the plate is sufficiently reduced to receive small sizeswhile preserving the normalized ends, it follows, especially in largesizes, a very disturbed longitudinal stability however little the soleis raised with respect to the ski. In this case, with the help of thebinding elasticity, the release values will vary depending on thesupports of the sole ends on the ski, these variables depending on thesizes and the presence or not of a wedge of snow,

finally, the dimensions of the polygon formed by the previouslydescribed boot/plate contact zones are too reduced to ensure a correcttransmission of the forces, in the transverse direction as much as inthe longitudinal.

As for the solution proposing several plate dimensions to cover all ofthe sizes, the cost is high, since the entire release mechanism, as wellas the boot, are affected.

Finally, in various constructions of the “boots/bindings” type, at leasta part of the walking surface of the sole is also the support surface onthe ski or the binding. Here again, wear and deformations areincompatible with performance and safety. Commonly owned patent FR 2 654591 shows this description.

In the third patent CH 507 007, a boot suspended at the front and rearends on an abutment and a heel, respectively, is disclosed. Thisconstruction has been abandoned for several reasons:

it implies an extremely rigid sole given the distance of the supports(structure, cost, weight, etc.),

the protuberances at the front and rear of the boot are exposed toimpacts (the ends in particular are exposed), going up or down stairs,etc.,

since all of the forces are reflected directly to the binding (inparticular, the abutment), it is understood that the functioning of thelatter is disturbed by a variable weight (transfer of weight due toimbalances),

fitting becomes extremely difficult, even impossible, if one wishes totake advantage of the raised position of the sole with respect to theski,

finally, the cost of an inseparable assembly is high.

Ski boots are also known whose shell comprises, at its lower portion,profiled notches adapted to the front and rear binding of the shell withrespect to a rotative plate. These notches do not constitute supportsurfaces, but only retaining members replacing those existing in the ISO5355 standard. The support remains the lower surface of the sole,therefore the “walking” surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to overcome the various drawbackspreviously enumerated by proposing a boot offering both good walkingfeatures and good features for athletic practice, as much for thesupports allowing the steering of the apparatus as for the retention onthe apparatus, and this in a durable manner, the support zones beingoutside of the wear zones of the sole.

In addition, the boot according to the invention can, in an embodiment,be compatible with the use of a normalized sole structure adapted tocooperate with bindings having conventional retentions and supports.

An object of the invention is a boot for gliding sports comprising arigid base and an upper adapted to cooperate with a gliding apparatus onwhich the boot must take supports and be retained, wherein the base isequipped with a sole and comprises support surfaces recessed withrespect to the surface of the bearing sole when walking, these supportsurfaces defining a support plane and being adapted to take support onthe upper surfaces of the projections extending from the glidingapparatus, the boot furthermore comprising detachable retaining elementsto cooperate with complementary retaining elements fixed to the glidingapparatus.

The invention also has the object of a snow gliding apparatus comprisinga gliding element equipped with retaining elements adapted to cooperatewith at least one boot, the gliding apparatus comprising a cradleequipped with projections whose upper surfaces define a support planefor the boot, the cradle having a base fixed to the gliding apparatus totransmit the boot supports to the apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and other features will appearin the following description, with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a lateral view of a first embodiment of a boot for glidingsports according to the invention for alpine skiing, associated with aspecific conventional binding device and a specific support device.

FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of the shell of the boot according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of a boot according to the inventionfor skating with aligned wheels and the associated support device.

FIG. 4 shows a boot base according to FIG. 1 before the mounting of asole.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show, respectively, a normalized sole and a walking solemade of two parts, and ready for mounting on the base of the boot shownin FIG. 4.

FIGS. 7a, 7 b, 7 c, and 8 a, 8 b, 8 c show, respectively, verticalcross-sections along the lines “a” and “b” of FIG. 4, and show themounting of a normalized or walking sole with respect to the supports12, 14 and 13, 15, respectively.

FIG. 9 shows a lateral view of a boot according to the invention, butequipped with a normalized sole and mounted on a ski by means of aconventional binding device, the assembly being consistent with the ISO5355 standard.

FIG. 10 shows a boot/ski assembly according to the prior art, in across-section at the level of the forefoot, for a “normal” width ski.

FIG. 11 shows the boot according to the invention cooperating with a“normal” ski (same as FIG. 10), with an associated support device.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show, for a larger ski and for a narrower ski, across-section of a boot assembly according to the invention with anassociated support device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To better understand the following description, it is necessary todefine what is meant by “supports” and “retentions” when skiing, forexample.

The support zones are the zones of the boot that define the polygon forsupporting the boot on the element beneath it (binding, ski orintermediate element of the plate type).

The retaining zones are the zones that cooperate with parts of thebinding to retain the boot on the latter during various biases whenskiing.

Conventionally, the supports are obtained by the sole taking support onthe ski and through the retaining elements which are the abutments andheels. According to the invention, they are separate as it will appearfrom the following description.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment wherein the gliding apparatus is analpine ski and the boot is a rigid shell alpine ski boot.

The boot shown in FIG. 1 is constituted by an external sole 1 made oftwo parts 1 a and 1 b, which will be discussed later, and from which arigid shell base 2 extends, itself overlaid by an upper 3.

The boot is adapted to cooperate with a ski 6, by means of a bindingdevice that comprises front and rear fastening members 8 and 9cooperating with zones 10 and 11, respectively, for the verticalretention of the boot. These retaining zones 10 and 11 are engaged,preferably in a conventional manner, at the front and rear ends of thesole 1.

According to the invention, the boot furthermore comprises supportsurfaces 12, 13 (and 14 and 15, not shown in this lateral view) for theboot on the ski, on both sides of the lateral flanks of the shell base2, in a zone extending beyond the width of the normalized contour of thesole 1, these supports being retracted from the plane of the lowersurface of the sole 1.

These support surfaces 12 and 13 of the boot cooperate withcorresponding support surfaces 16 and 17 (18 and 19 are not shown)obtained at the tops of four vertical projections extending from acontact plate fixed to the ski 6 and forming a cradle 7 attachedthereon.

This cradle 7 affixed to the ski 6 and also bearing the rear bindingelement 9 is at least partially rotative with respect to the ski.Preferably, the cradle 7 is rotatably mounted on the ski along arotation axis XX′ located between the rear of the calcaneus and thefirst metatarsal of the skier's foot. These support surfaces 16 and 17are raised sufficiently with respect to the upper plane of the ski or ofthe binding assembly in order to allow the raising of the walkingsurfaces 1 a and 1 b of the sole, to guarantee the priority of thesupports 12, 14, 13, 15 and 16, 18, 17, 19, and finally to allow a“wedge of snow” under the sole.

FIG. 2 shows in a bottom view the boot of FIG. 1, especially thesole/walking surface zone 1 a, 1 b, within a having a width “l”corresponding to the normalized zone (ISO 5355 standard) of the sole 14.

The support surfaces of the gliding apparatus under the boot 12, 13, 14,15 are visible in the drawing. They are recessed in height with respectto the walking surface “S,” and on both sides of this sole. They areengaged on the bottom of the shell 2.

In one embodiment these support surfaces 12, 13, 14, 15 can beconstituted of cleats obtained from molding with the shell base 2. Ofcourse, these cleats can also be attached to or associated with mountingtabs inserted between the shell 2 and the sole 1.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the front supportsurfaces 12, 14 are located under the metatarsal articulation, and therear support surfaces 13, 15 are located under the heel, in order toachieve a good compromise between a longitudinal stability of the boot 1on the cradle 7 and a desired rigidity of the shell base 2.

The dimensions between, on the one hand, the front support surfaces 12and 14 and the front retaining surface 10 (×1) and, on the other hand,the rear support surfaces 13, 15 and the rear retaining surface 11 (×2)are specified during construction and make any “height adjustment” ofthe binding unnecessary, a source of forgetfulness and therefore ofinsecurity in prior systems.

Additionally, the respective lengths of the front and rear supportsurfaces of the boot are sufficient to allow a support for boots ofdifferent sizes on a standard cradle 7.

It is possible to create an advancing and/or canting effect with such astructure. For this, the supports formed between the support surfaces12, 13, 14, 15 of the boot and the corresponding support surfaces 16,17, 18, 19 of the cradle 7 are offset in height with respect to oneanother to form the desired support plane.

The tilting of these planes can also be adjustable.

Preferably, the fastening member 9 of the rear part of the bindingcommonly called “heel” is loaded on the cradle as shown in FIG. 1.However, it could be independent and affixed directly to the ski 6however little it allows the rotation of the boot from the pivot aroundXX′ (FIG. 1).

The front fastening member or abutment 8 will be preferably affixed in aconventional manner to the ski 6 to maintain all of its functionalities.As for safety, the advantages come out immediately. The supports 12, 13,14 and 15 cooperating with the projections 16-19 are stable, independentof the wear of the sole 1 and located in a zone that avoids wedges ofsnow and aggressions.

The invention also relates to the association of the boot, such asdescribed, with the support device formed by the cradle 7 which in factreplaces the conventional supports (through the fastening elements whichare the abutments and heels), and therefore allows the separating ofsupport surface and walking surface.

Walking with a sole adapted for walking becomes sure and comfortablewithout having any negative effect on safety when skiing.

The presence of a pivot (around XX′) located anatomically between therear of the calcaneus and the first metatarsal authorizes an optimumfunctioning of the abutment and the best possible control of the releasevalues, including in the particular configurations with a presence oflateral moment. The traumatic risk of the knee is thereforesubstantially reduced.

In summary, safety is maintained, independently of the weather, wear,dirt and instantaneous center of rotation of the boot, practicallyundetermined in the conventional abutment/heel concept.

As for performance, the quality and dimensions of the support polygonguarantee an optimum transmission of the forces from the skier to theski by considerably reducing the “hinge effect” previously described. Inaddition, the distance with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ski(and of the boot) of the supports 12, 13, 14, 15 bring the lattersubstantially plumb with the running edges of the ski and make the edgesetting optimal. This arrangement has favorable effects on safety andcomfort.

Indeed, it can allow, at an equal transmission quality, the constructionof a boot upper 3 that is more flexible, even lower, than what must beconstructed in conventional alpine boots. There, too, the risk oftraumatism at the level of the knee decreases, and the opportunity tocorrectly deal with the boot comfort is also available.

Finally, the better transmission of the forces and stability of theboot/binding/ski structure allow skiing at a lower value of bindingadjustment.

In summary, the described construction provide for excellent safety thatis reliable in weather conditions, improved performance and walkingcomfort compatible, qualities which were incompatible in theconventional structures.

The invention as it appears from the previous description is applicableto types of athletic practices other than alpine skiing.

In particular, any athletic practice in which a boot is associated witha gliding (or rolling) apparatus on which it is held by retainingelements, and which requires the transmission through supports on theapparatus can use a boot of this type with a walking sole and supportsurfaces recessed with respect to the sole surface to cooperate withraised support surfaces coming from a support cradle or a frame affixedto the apparatus.

The improvements that result therefrom in all of the cases are a bettertechnicality and/or performance by the quality of the support induced bythe dimension of the seating, a real versatility in the possibility ofseparating the boot from the sport apparatus for walking, and thiswithout degrading the quality of the boot support on the correspondingelement on account of the wear of the sole.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of such a boot according to the invention forin-line skating comprising a frame 20 equipped with aligned wheels21-24. The frame is equipped with projections whose upper surfaces 18,19 (16, 17 not shown) cooperate with support surfaces 12, 13 (14, 15) ofthe boot recessed from the sole formed of a front sole zone 1 a and aheel sole zone 1 b. In the embodiment shown, the elements for retainingthe boot on the rolling frame are constituted of locking means 25 and 26making a blockage of the projections with respect to the sole.

Other retaining means can be used and, in particular, a sufficientlyrigid shell or a flexible envelope affixed to the frame, and equippedwith buckle or lacing closing means, for example, closed on the walkingboot, the boot being equipped with support surfaces for the projectionsso as to ensure good supports of the foot with respect to the apparatus.

The same structure can also be used for a boot adapted to snowboarding,the projections forming support surfaces corresponding to supportsurfaces recessed from the walking sole, extending from a cradle forminga part of a binding assembly mounted on the snowboard.

In these different embodiments, shown or not shown, the geometry of thesupport surfaces formed by the upper surfaces of the projections, and ofthe corresponding support surfaces recessed with respect to the usefulsurface of the walking sole is adapted so that the position of the footin the boot with respect to the apparatus necessary to the athleticpractice is optimized with respect to this practice, especially for theadvancing, the tilting of the sole with respect to the horizontal orlateral tilting.

In the application to alpine skiing, it is possible to provide anadaptation for a transitory phase in which the boot equipped with itssupport surfaces, outside of the walking zone of the sole, would benonetheless adapted to conventional retaining and support elements, byproviding adaptation means that can take the form of two removablesoles, one being consistent with the standard, and the other adapted towalking according to the invention.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show such an adaptation in lateral views.

FIG. 4 shows the boot without a sole, i.e., with its shell 2 and itsupper 3, with the support surfaces 12, 13 (14, 15 not shown), adapted tocooperate with the projections extending from a cradle, formed on theshell base 2. These surfaces are as described with reference to FIGS. 1and 2, arranged laterally with respect to the normalized central zonewith a width “l” (FIG. 2). The front and rear parts of the shell baseare equipped with protuberances 30 and 31 located on the longitudinalaxis of the shell base.

This base is adapted to a conventional functioning when a sole 1 c, 1 d,equipped with a planar support surface consistent with the standards isattached thereto, as shown in FIG. 5, the front and rear parts of thesole being equipped with slides 32, 33, adapted to cooperate withcomplementary parts 30 and 31, arranged to this end in the shell base.

Conversely, this base is adapted for a functioning according to theinvention, and the surfaces 12, 13 (14 and 15) play their part of asupport when a walking sole 1 a, 1 b shown in FIG. 6 is attachedthereto, equipped with the same slides 32, 33, for binding to the shellbase which, in turn, is adapted for walking but cannot provide thenecessary supports.

FIGS. 7a, 7 b, 7 c are transverse cross-sectional views corresponding toFIGS. 4, 5 and 6 along the vertical axis “a” of the forefoot.

FIGS. 8a, 8 b and 8 c are transverse cross-sectional views correspondingto the same Figures at the level of the heel along the vertical axis“b,” where the same references designate the same elements.

FIG. 9 shows the boot equipped with the conventional sole on a ski onwhich it is held in a conventional manner, the support surfacesaccording to the invention 12, 13, 14 and not being used.

It was previously mentioned in relation to the description of theembodiment of the invention for alpine skiing, with reference to FIGS. 1and 2, that the arrangement of the support surfaces plumb with therunning edges allowed an improvement of the transmission.

FIG. 10 shows a transverse cross-section of a “conventional” ski/bootassembly, “L1” being the width of this type of ski and “l” thenormalized width of the boot sole.

It is seen that in the best of cases, with a new, therefore flat bootsole, the couple available for the edge setting is l/2×F, the dimensions“l” and “L1” being furthermore close enough to one another.

FIG. 11 shows a transverse cross-section of a ski/boot assemblyaccording to the invention, the ski being identical to that of FIG. 10(width L1), and “l1” being the distance between supports greater than“l”.

In this case, the couple l1/2×F available for the edge setting is morefavorable and the transmission of forces from the skier to the ski isconsiderably improved. This would be even more evident if FIG. 10 hadshown a sole curved from walking and wear.

FIG. 12 shows a transverse cross-section similar to that of FIG. 11, butwith a “wide” ski, of a width L2>L1.

It is known that, for skiing on powdery snow, other types of wider skisare used, and a problem encountered with conventional binding systems(support/retention) mounted on such skis is a lack of gripping on a hardtrail. The boot according to the invention, cooperating with supportsurfaces extending from a cradle, according to the invention, isparticularly well adapted to such a practice with a wide ski.

In this embodiment, the dimension “l1” defined by the supports 12, 14(13 and 15 at the rear are not shown), is identical to that of FIG. 11.

However, the cradle 7′ is trapezoidal and allows the transmission to theski, through the supports 16, 18 (17, 19 not shown) of a couple L/2×Fwhich is applied substantially at the level of the ski running edge(dimension L compared to L2). Thus, the use of a “wide” ski is no longerincompatible with a good efficiency on hard snow or trails.

This solution is particularly interesting since it avoids the drawbacksof a prior known solution consisting of, for improving the edge setting,off-centering the binding with respect to the longitudinal axis of theski, thereby creating a right ski and a left ski, with a displacement ofthe center of gravity of the ski with respect to the boot, thisimbalance being susceptible of causing a problem upon landing from ajump, for example, or simply affecting the maneuverability.

In the same way, there are other ski practices in which the ends of theski are wide whereas the central part is narrower, and which isparticularly adapted to making curves. The invention is alsoparticularly well adapted to this type of practice. In this case, thetrapezium formed in cross-section by the cradle 7″, as shown in FIG. 13,is inverted with respect to that shown in FIG. 12, the sole of the bootstill being the same. The width “l1” between the support surfaces beinggreater than the width L3 of the ski, the transmission of forces occursthrough the tilted planes of the support cradle 7″. This tiltingassociated with the raising of the boot does not penalize the edgesetting angle (angle α).

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described and/or shown.

In particular, the shape of the frame or of the cradle from which extendthe projections whose upper surfaces form the support surfaces forcorresponding surfaces provided on the base of the boot recessed fromthe walking sole will be adapted to the athletic practice and to theshape of the corresponding gliding apparatus, and it could or could notinclude other functions necessary for this practice, especially all orpart of the means for binding the boot on the apparatus. In any case,the boot/gliding apparatus interface and the boot/ground interface whenwalking are separate, and the quality of the first is conservedregardless of the state of the second one.

What is claimed is:
 1. A boot for a gliding sport, said boot comprising:a rigid shell base and an upper adapted to be supported and retained ona gliding apparatus, said base comprising a sole, said sole having awalking surface and a plurality of support surfaces recessed above andlaterally of said walking surface, said support surfaces being adaptedto be supported on upper surfaces of projections extending from thegliding apparatus, the boot furthermore comprising retention structureadapted to cooperate with complementary binding devices fixed to thegliding apparatus.
 2. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: said supportsurfaces define a support plane.
 3. A boot according to claim 2,wherein: said support plane is inclined with respect to a horizontalplane of the gliding apparatus.
 4. A boot according to claim 2, wherein:said support surfaces of said shell base are formed by cleats made bymolding integrally with said rigid shell base.
 5. A boot according toclaim 3, wherein: said support surfaces of said shell base are formed bycleats made by molding integrally with said rigid shell base.
 6. A bootaccording to claim 1, wherein: said walking surface is a lowermostsurface shaped to facilitate walking.
 7. A boot according to claim 6,wherein: said support surfaces of said shell base are formed by cleatsmade by molding integrally with said rigid shell base.
 8. A bootaccording to claim 1, wherein: said walking sole comprises a removablewalking sole, said boot further comprising a replaceable normalized solefor an athletic practice in which the gliding apparatus requires a soleconstituting a normalized interface.
 9. A boot according to claim 8,wherein: said support surfaces of said shell base are formed by cleatsmade by molding integrally with said rigid shell base.
 10. A bootaccording to claim 1, wherein: said support surfaces of said shell baseare formed by cleats made by molding integrally with said rigid shellbase.
 11. A boot according to claim 1, wherein: said retention structurecomprise retaining surfaces positioned at respective upper portions offront and rear zones of said sole to cooperate with front and rearbinding elements, respectively.
 12. A gliding apparatus comprising: aframe or cradle adapted to cooperate with a removable boot according toclaim 1; detachable retention devices to hold the boot on the apparatus;upwardly extending projections having surfaces defining a support planefor engagement with the support surfaces of the boot, said surfaces ofsaid upwardly extending projections being separate from the sole of theboot.
 13. A snow gliding apparatus comprising: a gliding elementequipped with retention devices adapted to cooperate with at least oneboot according to claim 1; said gliding element further equipped with acradle, said cradle comprising projections having upper surfacesdefining a support plane for the boot, said cradle having a base fixedto the gliding apparatus to transmit the boot supports to the apparatus.14. A snow gliding apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: a crosssection of said cradle is substantially rectangular for a support widthon the gliding apparatus having the same dimension as the width betweensupport zones formed on the shell base of the boot, recessed from thewalking surface of the boot.
 15. A snow gliding apparatus according toclaim 13, wherein: the gliding apparatus has a width greater than awidth of the sole of the boot, a cross section of said cradle beingtrapezoidal with widths between said projections being substantiallyless than corresponding widths of said base of said cradle.
 16. A snowgliding apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: the gliding apparatushas a width smaller that a width of the sole of the boot at said frontand rear projections, a cross section of said cradle being trapezoidalwith widths between said projections being substantially greater thancorresponding widths of said base of said cradle.
 17. A snow glidingapparatus according to claim 13, further comprising: a mechanism formounting said cradle for rotation on said gliding element for enablingcooperation with a releasable safety binding system.
 18. A snow glidingapparatus according to claim 13, wherein: said mechanism provides forrotation about an upwardly extending pivot axis, said pivot axis beingpositioned between the calcaneus and first metatarsal of a user's footwhen positioned on the gliding apparatus.
 19. A snow gliding apparatusaccording to claim 17, wherein: said releasable safety binding system isat least partially affixed to said cradle.
 20. An assembly comprising: aboot for a gliding sport and a structure for which a gliding apparatusis equipped for securing said boot to the gliding apparatus; said bootcomprising a rigid shell base and an upper adapted to be supported andretained on a gliding apparatus, said base comprising a sole, said solehaving a walking surface and a plurality of support surfaces recessedabove and laterally of said walking surface, said support surfacesdefining a support plane, said support surfaces being adapted to besupported on upper surfaces of projections extending from the glidingapparatus, the boot furthermore comprising retention structure; and saidstructure for which the gliding apparatus is equipped comprises upwardlyextending projections having surfaces defining a support plane forengagement with the support surfaces of the boot, said surfaces of saidupwardly extending projections being separate from the sole of saidboot, and binding devices complementary of said retention structure ofsaid boot to hold said boot on said gliding apparatus.
 21. An assemblyaccording to claim 20, further comprising said gliding apparatus.
 22. Anassembly according to claim 21, wherein said gliding apparatus comprisesa ski.
 23. An assembly according to claim 22, wherein said bootcomprises an alpine ski boot.
 24. An assembly according to claim 21,wherein said gliding apparatus comprises a skate frame with in-linewheels.